Employee's Right to Benefits Case Dismissed

July 19, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A court dismissed
the case for a Verizon PA Inc. employee who was terminated on
the same day the company announced a benefit plan that would
pay him $66,000 and increase his pension benefits.

James Tobler claims his employer purposely fired him
on November 19, 2001 to interfere with his right to the
benefit, a violation of ERISA.
According to the court opinion, four days earlier
Tobler was arrested for purchasing cocaine while in a
company vehicle.
When he reported to work, he was told he was terminated due
to the drug incident.
That same day, the opinion said, Verizon announced an
Enhanced Income Security Plan (EISP) that would increase
pension benefits by 5%, pay employees a termination
allowance of $2,200 times their years of service up to 30,
and pay a relocation/re-education stipend for employees who
remained in employment until December 29, 2001 and then
retired.

Tobler did not receive notification of the new
benefit plan due to his termination on that day, although
his union did negotiate his 5% pension increase later,
according to the opinion.
He argues that he was not officially terminated
until October 17, 2002 when a labor arbitrator upheld
Verizon’s decision to fire him, so he was eligible for
the plan and should have received notification.
In his opinion, US District Judge Jacob Hart for the US
District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania,
noted that even if that were true, he would not be eligible
for benefits since he did not remain in employment until
December 29 of that year.

Hart granted Verizon’s motion to dismiss the
case saying Tobler did not provide any evidence that the
company terminated him with the intent to deny him
benefits under the EISP.